KAUAI, HAWAII – 5 DAYS ITINERARY
I mean if you have never been to Hawai’i and been contemplating what island to choose, pick Kauai and I will tell you WHY!
I have been to all 4 islands of Hawai’i but Kauai is top drawer for it’s so lush green, my eyes and heart traveled straight to heaven.
DAY 1: POIPU (SOUTH SHORE)
We landed around 1PM at the airport so we had only half a day to explore! We started our journey by picking up the rental car and drove to The ISO Hotel in East-Central Kauai which is very close to the airport (6.8 Miles). First stop was the SPROUTING HORN through the TREE TUNNEL on the South Shore. After taking the golden hour stroll around the Sprouting horn, we headed to Brennecke’s Beach and spotted some loafing turtles and some endangered Monk seals on the shore. What a rare delight it was. The dinner was Thai food at SUKHOTHAI CAFE in Kapaa Downtown on our way back to our hotel and ended the night at our hotel balcony and fell asleep in a hot minute (courtesy of the ASMR beach waves).
Pro Tip : Kauai Island is a slow coast and the nightlife is kind of mellow so most restaurants close up early. Hence, plan your dinner accordingly.
Accommodation : https://www.theiso.com/
DAY 2 : MOUNTAIN TUBING AND BIKING
Day 2 started pretty early by the sound of roosters crowing at 6AM and we had booked the 8am – 11am Mountain Tubing activity via https://kauaibackcountry.com/.
A highly recommended kid friendly activity and a great sport for family bonding.
PRO TIP: The Mountain tubing is very very popular so please book atleast two weeks in advance if booking for a bigger group.
Had the most delish blue corn tacos for lunch at the hotel from TIKI TACOS. We overate so decided to workout but make it fun. The hotel gave us bikes so we did the Ke Ala Hele Makalae Bike Path which stretches about 8 miles at the coast of the most Pristine beaches and filled Margarita in the ISO bottles. Typsy biking and getting drenched in the rain on our way back home was the highlight of our day, it was only proper to eat Indian food from a local Indian food truck and enjoyed our takeout in the moonlight with the ASMR.
DAY 3 : WAIMEA CANYON & PRINCEVILLE
Our next destination was Princeville located in the north shore of Kauai! We packed our bags the night before and started early around 8:00am to Waimea Canyon. Drove in the craziest rains up to the top only to spot double rainbows after.
Stopped by Kokee Lodge and discovered an amazing coffee flavor called Paniolo! Enjoyed the afternoon talking about life while driving down to Kekaha beach with some killer views .
Next stop was KAUAI COFFEE where we experienced our first coffee tasting tour, brought home the most beautiful whole beans. Had shaved ice at Wailua shave ice cream and drove to Princeville.
Checked in our hotel room in Princeville ( The makai club). Drove out to see the Sunset at Anini beach and day 3 was sorted.
Visited Waioli beach park and went to Tahiti nui in Hanalei for dinner. Ordered pizza and drinks. Picked up morning breakfast from FOODLAND.
PRO TIP : PACK YOUR WIND CHEATERS TO KAUAI. IT COULD RAIN ANY TIME ANY MINUTE.
DAY 4 : LIMAHULI GARDEN AND PRESERVE
Had breakfast and drove to Limahuli Garden and Preserve.
Drove back to Haena state park and found a secluded spot at the beach. Took a walk on the beach and drove back to Hanelei bay and Went to Kalypso for happy hour. Went to foodland for grocery.
DAY 5: KAUAI ATV ADVENTURES & WAIAMEA FALLS
Drove to the South shore (Poipu) for Kauai ATV adventures (Highly recommended), picked up our to go from a local delish Mexican joint called Da crack, drove to Poipu Beach and ate food watching the seals and turtles on the beach.
On our way back to Princeville we stopped by Waimea Falls, also stopped by Kapaa to get our afternoon coffee run at Java kai, then walked to Queen’s bath but it was closed, so we drove to Anini Beach and ate Chester fries and beers, watched a killer sunset and drove back to Princeville.
DAY 6 : SOAKING ALL THE ALOHA
Said Goodbye to the Garden Isle was not an easy fit. We just dodged a Hail Mary storm the day we were returning.